Display devices simulating a humanoid or other animal structures have long been used in advertising. The objective of such devices is to communicate and interact with individuals, frequently potential buyers of goods and services, in such a manner so that a message is delivered. Success or failure in such advertising display devices often is dependent upon the first impression. First impressions are made of the things people notice about the display device during the crucial first minute or so, even seconds, upon encountering it. If that first impression is a positive one, it will pay big dividends in communicating the message sought to be delivered. It has also been found that display devices may be extremely effective in reaching the subconscious state of an individual and obtaining a desired response from the individual.
Display devices that have been developed primarily depend upon communication by appearance and sound. First, people tend to focus on what they can see. Social scientists may disagree on the precise sequence by which individuals process information, however, experts believe that appearance constitutes more than one half of the total message. Even without uttering a sound, it is believed that more than 50% of the meaning of the message is conveyed by facial expressions and body language alone. Next, people focus on what they can hear. The sound may transmit a substantial percentage of the meaning in face-to-face transmissions. Sound conveys a great deal more information when it is combined with body language such as facial expressions, gestures, eye contact and other movement. Interestingly, social scientists conclude that the actual words communicated in the first few mcments or minutes of an encounter with a display device only contribute less than ten percent to the meaning. It is not that the words are unimportant, obviously, but if others do not like what they see, or if they get past the body language of the display device only to be stopped by sound, then that person may not care at all about what voice message is delivered. The mind of the observer of a display device is usually already made up by the first impression that has been made.
A number of display devices have been disclosed in the patent literature. For instance, the patent literature may be represented by the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,047,377; 2,152,296; 2,250,916; 2,270,142; 2,528,968; 2,538,162; 2,633,651; 2,671,984; 2,700,250; 2,867,049; 2,871,593; 2,890,535; 3,277,594; 3,662,374; 4,177,589 and 4,207,704. It is not intended by the listing of these patents that they are relevant to the invention described hereinafter, but rather they are offered to serve as background in the general field of display devices and particularly animated apparatus. Briefly, these listed patents represent the effort that has been made to create display devices, especially that simulate a human being. Often a plurality of movable members are combined in the device and arranged upon activation to cause animation. Various control mechanisms and electronics are often coupled to the movable members for mechanical activation thereof. In addition, often a sound reproducer is disposed in the proximity of the display device and connections are made between the moveable member mechanism and the sound reproducer such that sound is responsive to the mechanical movement. The devices of the prior patents are also particularly directed to an automatic generation of a mouth display and animation of the mouth in response to the sound. For instance, patents are directed to automatic synchronization of movement of a computer generated mouth to movement of a real mouth uttering words. Such devices and other devices have been proposed to animate lip movement.
There is a need for further improvements in communication display devices. Improvements in non-verbal and verbal communication devices are needed so that images may be properly and effectively communicated.